Animals
- Have I Mentioned That We Have A Lot Of Tomatoes?
I continue to be knee-deep in tomatoes.(Note to self...perhaps 40 plants was excessive.) The vines are beginning to die, but there are still so, so many tomatoes left to finishripening. Yesterday I harvested Amish paste tomatoes and Roma tomatoes...my...
- When Everything Is Right With The World....
Perhaps it's because of the stretch of absolutely fabulous days.... where the sun shines brightly, but the air is soft and light and cool... where billowy white clouds float on a crystal clear sea of blue...where bees buzz happily from blossom to...
- The Best Of Summer
It took me no time to get back into the rhythm of normal daily farm life yesterday.I awoke to a cool, sunny morning...a bright blue sky filled with storybook clouds. After morning chores were finished, I headed up to Becky's to pick some peaches...
- Happy Spring!!!
Yesterday we enjoyed the calm before the storm.Sunny, mid-40's...delightful. All of the animals were out lying in the sun.It was a peaceful day on the farm...and one that could convince anyone that Spring was knocking on the door. And then it snowed....but...
- Garden Explosion!!
It seems like just yesterday, I was planting seeds in tiny pots in the greenhouse. Now, months later, cold weather is just a memory and the dog days of August are upon us, and those tiny seedlings are mature plants bursting with produce. Thirty tomato...
Animals
And Now a Word From Our Sponsor, The Tomato!
Spectacular, cool summer weather continues and I am happy as a pig in a pool!
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day with a couple of passing rain showers...
short, rainbow-producing showers...
Don't you just love rain when it is sunny?
That kind of rain makes me want to jump in puddles!
It's been a wonderful summer for the animals...
not a bad summer for those in wool coats!
The pigs seem to be enjoying having the sheep next door, and spend a bit of time
watching them through the fence...
The sheep reciprocate...
(Actually, in these photos, they are keeping their eyes on me...
because you never know when a treat might appear!)
Pigs love when anyone, human or animal comes to visit.
They are quite social and intelligent, so having other species around serves to stimulate them.
You may wonder why I have separated the sheep and pigs.
It's because the sheep have a protein block that offers their supplements and protein
and is available to them in one of their houses 24/7.
(protein in the gut also aids in the fight against parasites...so the block is important)
The pigs, being pigs, would of course consume it in one sitting....so they are separated.
MaryAnn's favorite napping spot is on top of the hay that has gotten pushed under the fence
from the sheep's hay feeder.
Talk about a toothy grin!
Well, I continue to be up to my ears in tomatoes.
Yesterday I set out to freeze a bunch.
For this batch, I decided to roast them in the oven first,
then vacuum pack and freeze them in packages about the size of a tin can.
I will probably make my goal of not having to buy tomatoes for this next year.
On the subject of heirlooms... I received a question yesterday about this particular type of tomato and how to get the top to ripen.
This heirloom type.... a "black" variety is ripe when it looks like this.
Although the top is green, the inside meat is a rosy red, juicy and delicious.
One of the things about heirloom tomatoes is that they often do not present themselves
in a uniform size or color.
They are often striped, or splotchy, or even green and still ripe and juicy.
The tomatoes that are sold in the store were engineered to be of uniform size and color...
and also developed to travel well and keep for a long time...
resulting in beautiful tasteless tomatoes.
Heirlooms do not keep well, but must be consumed or processed as soon as picked.
But the flavor is unsurpassed!
Tomatoes...the way they were meant to be!
It's soon time to harvest kiwi berries...
but not yet, they are still hard and sour.
Today I will be harvesting hot peppers and making more hot pepper relish.
Then I will be heading down to see new baby Mackenzie and cooking dinner for her Mommy and Daddy, who are all coming home from the hospital today.
I think she might already have her Daddy wrapped around her tiny little pink finger!
I spent a little time holding our little fairy princess yesterday,
and now my heart has melted into a puddle.
She is such a peaceful baby...
a perfect little pink fairy!
- Have I Mentioned That We Have A Lot Of Tomatoes?
I continue to be knee-deep in tomatoes.(Note to self...perhaps 40 plants was excessive.) The vines are beginning to die, but there are still so, so many tomatoes left to finishripening. Yesterday I harvested Amish paste tomatoes and Roma tomatoes...my...
- When Everything Is Right With The World....
Perhaps it's because of the stretch of absolutely fabulous days.... where the sun shines brightly, but the air is soft and light and cool... where billowy white clouds float on a crystal clear sea of blue...where bees buzz happily from blossom to...
- The Best Of Summer
It took me no time to get back into the rhythm of normal daily farm life yesterday.I awoke to a cool, sunny morning...a bright blue sky filled with storybook clouds. After morning chores were finished, I headed up to Becky's to pick some peaches...
- Happy Spring!!!
Yesterday we enjoyed the calm before the storm.Sunny, mid-40's...delightful. All of the animals were out lying in the sun.It was a peaceful day on the farm...and one that could convince anyone that Spring was knocking on the door. And then it snowed....but...
- Garden Explosion!!
It seems like just yesterday, I was planting seeds in tiny pots in the greenhouse. Now, months later, cold weather is just a memory and the dog days of August are upon us, and those tiny seedlings are mature plants bursting with produce. Thirty tomato...